Okay, just found this thread. So I will post this here. I was never a fan of Dr. Who. I always felt the show was too silly and too campy IMO. I have been watching the newest season and it seems the new episodes are not only shot better, but it seems they are going with a much more grounded take. You can't get rid of all the silly nonsense (it's Dr. Who) but they have got rid of enough of it that the show is watchable...heck...enjoyable.
No thoughts on the newest Doctor because they are all the same IMHO. Just an actor doing the same manic/eccentric/clever schtick.
"The Marvel EIC Chair has a certain curse that goes along with it: it tends to drive people insane, and ultimately, out of the business altogether. It is the notorious last stop for many staffers, as once you've sat in The Big Chair, your pariah status is usually locked in." Christopher Priest
Holding back the opening and the TARDIS until the second episode made this episode a lot more moving than it would have been otherwise. The TARDIS is the longest running character on the series and she's female. Hello Sexy.
The episode's setting reminded me a bit of "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"-desert world, tent (although a holo tent) old ruins hiding a dark secret.....(complete with homicidal but mostly abandoned robots) Somewhat tonally different though, and not really a commentary on the show like that one.
Also got to see more of Jodie's authority as the Doctor which was cool. As well as of course callbacks to the akido and the Doctor's displeasure with guns (although that's something that's been a bit inconsistent over the years, even with the new shows).
Looks like we now might have an arc word..."The Timeless Child." Of course, it's started the usual round of speculation about Susan coming back, something that's been pretty much been going on since the new series returned.
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DW is wasting its money on me, because I don't notice the improvement in visual quality. I just know it's there because reviews tell me it is. Maybe this is because I see the show on the same computer screen as I watched the previous episodes and the aspect ratio doesn't matter. If anything a wider aspect ratio makes things in the picture smaller than they would be with a taller aspect ratio.
I wonder if one day it will become a fad to upend our screens so they stand tall instead of wide (it doesn't require any technical change, the aspect ratio remains the same), but now you would have tall vistas instead of wide vistas.
Really, I had no idea this was filmed in South Africa until the final credits. They could have filmed it in a quarry outside of Cardiff and I wouldn't have known the difference.
I haven't seen past the first episode, but the cinematography and direction blew me away, which in hindsight surprised me because it had fewer SFX pieces than most episodes. But the few SFX it had, like the glowing squares in the forest, still really impressed me with its clean lines and sharp graphics, even for something relatively simple.
But with that said, even the simplest things in that episode greatly impressed me. The shots of, say, their van driving to downtown at night was masterfully framed, even though it was simply a... van driving to downtown at night. Like, each shot felt very deliberate and thus cinematic to me.
Upon second viewing of the second episode, I see Yaz' personality getting stampeded by everyone elses. It's still early so I wouldn't worry much, but I would hope she does something that stands out in the next episode.
I'm enjoying the new Doctor Who although I will reserve my judgement until the end of the current season and intend to watch it all again in one go to see how it works. So far Whittaker took the role well, so much so she reminded me of David Tennant's Doctor in some ways. The new Tardis interior is gorgeous.
Although I'm not 100% sold on the companions yet.
Finally, as a deaf fan, I am frustrated that the Big Finish audios that you all enjoy does not apparently have transcripts so that I could enjoy reading it. Does anyone know where might I find transcripts of it? Or are there any? If anyone could help me out I'd appreciate it.
Plot details on "Rosa"
http://cultbox.co.uk/general/doctor-...mages-released
Uh oh, sounds like it's a "very special" episode.
Are those special biscuits at the end of the episode supposed to mean something to me? Is this some twee thing in Britain that none of us outside the sceptred isle would know about--like Jelly Babies and Jammy Dodgers?
I couldn't tell they were custard or cream. They just looked like a kind of shortbread cookie to me. Shortbread cookies are tight.
I'm kind of reminded of this a bit. Like the fault locator and the time-space visualizer, it's one of those interesting items that showed up in the black and white years for a few episodes and then were never seen again, or had their functions incorporated into the main console/scanner.
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Food_machine
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